A Husband's Long Absence
“I’ve been ordered to remain in Hebei on state affairs. It may take quite some time—half a year at the earliest.”
“Then I suppose we must pack and prepare to move the household to Hebei… eek!?”
Yuan Jing’s hand flew to her belly as she spoke, only for Lu Ming and Cai Yan to immediately restrain her.
“Husband, you’re going to war again, aren’t you?”
“Yes. Against Yuan Shao’s forces in Hebei.”
“Good heavens—Yuan Benchu!”
At the name, Diaochan turned deathly pale and clutched her younger sister, Xiaoqiao, in a panic.
“My lord, that man is the Grand General of the Realm, is he not? Father always said he commands the strongest army in the Han.”
Yuan Shao’s fearsome reputation had spread even to the lands south of the Yangtze, enough to terrify the Qiao sisters.
“They say he leads a million troops and crushes all who resist… a truly terrifying Grand General.”
When Xiaoqiao also shrank back in fear, Lu Ming pointed at Yuan Jing with a nonchalant expression.
“We’ve got his niece right here.”
“E-eh!?”
Yuan Jing startled at being singled out and turned to me with careful words.
“To be honest, I’ve barely seen him since childhood… He… he wasn’t that frightening back then… but now…”
I quietly pulled the trembling Yuan Jing into my arms.
“Don’t worry. Focus on your pregnancy and give birth to a healthy child.”
“Yes…”
“My lord, I will guard the household well. With the help of my mothers-in-law and sisters-in-law these days, it has become much easier.”
Cai Yan spoke calmly, reassuring the other wives that she would wait.
Going to the battlefield was nothing new, but this campaign promised to be far longer, so I clasped her hand tightly.
If only I could finish it quickly and return safely before then.
That night, I entered Diaochan’s chambers for a deep, lingering union, then visited Lu Ming’s room afterward for a fierce bout before finally resting.
“Husband.”
“Mm.”
“This time it’ll take a long while before you come back, won’t it?”
“There’s nothing I can do about it…”
Chen Lin’s proclamation denouncing Cao Cao, sent to the Chancellor’s office, and the letter from Yuan Shao that Cao Cao had me deliver to Hebei.
Meanwhile, Yuan Shao was said to be preparing a massive army while dealing with the plague in Yecheng.
Unlike before, this would not be a short war. It would be the great, prolonged clash known as the Battle of Guandu—a massive campaign on an unprecedented scale.
Cai Yan had even urged the still-childless Diaochan and Lu Ming to come to me tonight, so she understood.
“I’ll return safely this time as well. Don’t worry.”
“You mean you’ll return alone safely, right?”
“Hm?”
“Every time you go on a long journey, you always bring someone new back with you.”
“Ah…”
When I couldn’t answer, Lu Ming laughed and pulled me into her embrace, pressing her lips to my cheek.
Thus we held each other tightly through the night, and at dawn I rose early, donned my official robes, and departed.
***
Jian’an Year 6.
After the “Proclamation Denouncing Cao Cao” arrived from Hebei and the “Letter to Yuan Shao” I had delivered on Cao Cao’s behalf, the decisive clash between Cao Cao’s and Yuan Shao’s forces was imminent.
Chancellor Cao Cao himself raised an army of one hundred thousand and gathered them at Guandu Fortress south of the Yellow River, while Yuan Shao’s forces departed Yecheng, passed through Liyang, and prepared to cross the Yellow River.
Guandu Fortress was filled with grim resolve.
“At last, the moment has come.”
Cao Cao, clad in armor, studied the campaign map.
Xun You took charge of the briefing.
“My lord, Yuan Shao’s army has left Ye and is advancing toward Baima via Liyang.”
“Who is holding Baima?”
“Liu Yan, Administrator of Dong Commandery.”
“Hmm. He’s an excellent administrator, but lacks experience in battles like this.”
“Also, at Jiānchéng County in Dong Commandery, Colonel Cheng Yu is defending the city with seven hundred troops.”
“What? Only seven hundred? I told him to take at least three thousand.”
“My lord, Colonel Cheng moved first. He said that if Yuan Shao’s massive army descends on Baima and sees only a small force, they will dismiss it, so he intends to conduct continuous reconnaissance in the area and send reports.”
Because their numbers were small, the enemy would ignore them and pass by—Cheng Yu truly possessed remarkable daring.
“For now, Colonel Cheng claims he can hold Jiānchéng, but Baima remains the problem.”
“Then who leads the enemy vanguard?”
“Yan Liang, Wen Chou, Xun Yuqing, and Yuan Xi—these four.”
The names were familiar. I spoke up.
“Uncle, I saw Yan Liang and Wen Chou when I went to Ye as an envoy. Yuan Xi is Yuan Shao’s second son—he was likely placed there to earn military merit.”
“I see. Yan Liang and Wen Chou are the fierce generals Benchu always boasted of. So he sends them at the front while his own son commands from behind?”
After reviewing the situation, Cao Cao made his decision.
“Zixuan, it must be you.”
Oh.
Over Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Yue Jin, I was chosen to go first.
“Zixuan, I’ve already sent Cao Chun to Henei, which is the only territory we hold north of the Yellow River. Wu Yuan and Yuan Yang are at Wuyuan and Yanjin. Cao Xiu is at Puyang, and Miao Cai is in the rear at Dong Commandery.”
Cao Cao had a habit of sending kin ahead in his tactics.
With relatives positioned at every key point, I was now to lead the vanguard.
“Send Xu Huang to Yuan Yang at Yanjin. Yu Jin and Zhang Xiu will go to Henei. That means you must relieve Baima. Can you do it?”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“I’ll give you five thousand cavalry. Break the siege of Baima. Once you do, I will immediately lead thirty thousand of the main army through.”
The enemy was sending their full hundred thousand toward Baima, while we had to split our forces to defend multiple points. It meant Yuan Shao’s army outnumbered us at least three to one. The responsibility was immense.
“I will secure victory in the first battle without fail.”
“Good. Go!”
Thus I departed Guandu, leading five thousand elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
***
Baima Fortress clung to the banks of the Yellow River.
Though it had already erected two or three layers of wooden barricades and was raining arrows upon the enemy, the sheer number of foes visible was staggering.
“Good heavens…”
They had said a hundred thousand troops were descending, and already fifty thousand of the vanguard had arrived.
But we were the elite of the elite—the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
I gripped my spear tightly and shouted toward the enemy lines.
Since I was the vanguard, Cao Cao’s spearhead, I had to break through no matter the direction.
“All units, charge!”
Leading the cavalry, supported by the troops from Yanzhou who had come up from Puyang, I confirmed the banners of Liu Yan’s forces still holding Baima and made for the western gate.
Yuan Shao’s army, having spotted our approach from afar, readied their defense and loosed arrows, but this was nothing new.
BOOM!
The cavalry slammed straight into them, shattering their formation from within and carving a path.
One well-trained cavalryman could match ten infantrymen. Numbers meant nothing—I had to open a way for Cao Cao’s main force.
“Stop them! They must not open a path—!”
SHHK!
Today’s slaughter was exquisite, and our army’s morale soared.
Here, raw power was required.
From the western gate onward, I cut down every enemy in sight.
Infantry usually formed groups of a hundred, but striking their center easily shattered them.
Thus I continued carving through the enemy ranks, personally forcing open a path.
Once I had cleared some ground near the western gate, reinforcements appeared—one thousand cavalry.
“Colonel, it is Colonel Wei Xu!”
“Court Attendant Song Xian. I bring orders from the Chancellor.”
“What are they?”
“The Chancellor’s main army will arrive within one shichen. Until then, open a path, then strike the enemy’s landing point at the northern gate of Baima.”
“What?”
That meant pushing far deeper. I had already opened a path as ordered, but now they wanted me to drive all the way to the northern gate—the enemy’s landing zone—and destroy it?
“Damn it. Now I have to fight all the way to the northern gate and hit their landing point!”
“The Chancellor also said this: Although a hundred thousand troops were said to be descending, the Yuan Shao forces north of the Yellow River have diverted toward Yanjin instead of Baima. Therefore, we need only deal with the forces here. The Chancellor believes in you, Colonel…”
I understood.
Rather than breaking through during a massive landing, this was the entire force. If we severed their landing point now, Baima would be secure.
Still, it seemed far too dangerous. Yet Cao Cao had said three times that he trusted me, and the main army would arrive within one shichen.
First, I shed the wounded, added the new thousand cavalry, and once more had five thousand for the charge…
There was no choice.
With Song Xian and Wei Xu, I turned north toward the northern gate.
“Soldiers of Baima, cover us!”
At my shout, the fortress responded—banners and archers atop the walls rushed to support our advance.
We charged, mercilessly crushing every soldier in our path.
Their numbers were certainly great, but once the first line broke, the infantry behind could all be pierced.
Since no archers were visible, I could fight freely—wait!
When we first charged, they had rained arrows upon us. Where were those archers now?
I had assumed they were inside, but then the archers surrounding the northern gate should still be here.
Yet all I saw were regular infantry. That was why the breakthrough had been easy… but something felt wrong.
“Colonel, look there! All of Yuan Shao’s assault ships are gathered.”
“We must cut the mooring lines of the landed ships immediately and prevent any more from coming ashore.”
They were right.
But first—where was the enemy commander who had surrounded the northern gate?
Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and Yuan Shao’s son Yuan Xi were all supposed to be here…
SHHK—SHHK-SHK-SHK-SHK!
“What!?”
Archers poured out from the decks of the moored assault ships.
An enormous number of them filled every deck of the massive, multi-layered vessels.
“You bastard, you came all the way here to die!”
“Ah, shit…”
SHHK-SHK-SHK-SHK—SHHK-SHK-SHK!
A storm of arrows flew straight at our cavalry line.